Method of wrapping articles



DeC- 23, 1952 J. E. SNYDER 2,622,380

METHOD oF WRAPPING ARTICLES Filed Sept. 19, 1949 Patented Dec. 23, 1952 METHOD OF WRAPPING ARTICLES James E. Snyder, Akron, Ohio, assigner to Wingfoot Corporation, Akron, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application September 19, 1949, Serial No. 116,505

l Claim.

This invention relates to wrapping articles in fiat, flexible wrapping materials. More particularly, the process involves enclosing an article in a lm and then closing the package by gathering the surplus iilm at a point on the surface of the article, as by twisting the wrapper to form a pigtail. The package is sealed at the closure thus formed. The wrapping rmaterial may be any ordinary wrapping paper, wrapping nlm, etc.

The apparatus preferably employed includes a sheet of elastic material having a hole in it which is smaller than the article to be packaged. The hole is near the center of the sheet and is preferably circular but `may be of any desired shape, The length `and Width of the sheet should be about twice the length and width, respectively, of the cross section of the object to be wrapped, and the opening in the sheet should preferably be no more than one half the cross sectional area of the object. The wrapping material is placed over the elastic sheet and the object to be wrapped is pushed Iagainst the Wrapping material and through the opening, and carries the wrapping material with it, although not all of the wrapper is taken through the opening, The package is completed by gathering the wrapper at the opening, as by turning the article and thereby twisting the wrapper. The gathered or twisted portion of the wrapper may be tied, stapled, banded, heat-sealed or otherwise fastened in any suitable manner. The invention is suitable for the packaging of fruits and vegetables such as cabbage, etc. and other objects and particularly objects which have a generally rounded contour.

The invention will be further described in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a plan View of the unit of the apparatus which supports the elastic sheet. Fig. 2 is an elevation showing the equipment in use. Fig. 3 is a plan View of the equipment in use.

An essential feature of the apparatus is the elastic rubber sheet I in which there is the opening 2 with a continuous uninterrupted edge. This sheet is supported in any suitable manner on the frame `3 which is provided with legs 4. The frame may consist simply of four outside supports over which the elastic sheet is fastened. The sheet is a fiat sheet and is held taut by the frame.

The apparatus shown is designed for intermittent operation, but may be used continuously. The wrapping material which may be rubber hydrochloride film is taken oi the supply roll 5, brought luider the guide rolls 6 and and wound on to the roll a where the unused waste is gathered together. The guide roll 'I is fastened in the supports 9 under compression springs I0 which tend to hold it down in the same horizontal plane as the guide roll 6. However, these springs permit the guide roll I to raise up when suicient tension is placed on the iilm.

In operating the equpiment the iilm II is drawn from the supply roll 5 over the guide rolls I2 above the top of the elastic sheet I. The object I3 which is to be wrapped is pushed down onto the film I I and carries it through the opening 3 the elastic sheet `as the object is pushed through this opening. Fig. 2 illustrates yan object enclosed Vin the iilm just Iafter it has been pushed through the opening. The object may now be given a complete twist which draws the nlm down onto the top of the object and closes the package with pigtail I4, or the surplus lrn may be gathered together in any suitable manner and tied or otherwise fastened. The film is then cut above the seal with any suitable implement. The wrapped object falls onto the conveyor I5. Openings I6 are left in the waste iilm as the wrapped objects are cut from it.

Fig. 2 shows how the iilm is drawn through the opening during the wrapping operation. Various adaptations of the equipment will permit such an operation. For example, spring releases may be provided on roll 8 to permit it to be turned backward. In the drawing the guide roll 'I is held under the compression springs I0. This allows the roll to rise up vand the used film to be drawn back toward the packaging opera.- tion without the roll 8 being turned backward. The roll 6 may be similarly provided with compression springs.

The nlm used may be a thin tissue paper or any suitable wrapping material. If a thermostretchable iilm such as rubber hydrochloride nlm is employed, the guide roll' 6 may be heated to render the film stretchable. Then when the object is pressed against the iilm the film will stretch and the object will be enclosed in a stretched wrapper. This tends toward economy of film, and for various wrapping operations there are technical advantages in using a stretched sheet. For instance, a stretched sheet of rubber hydrochloride, nylon, etc. has a higher tensile than an unstretched sheet. Tightly twisting a heated heat-scalable film, such as rubber hydrochloride iilm, etc., forms a permanent heat sea Modifications may be made in the equipment employed without departing from the scope 0f the attached claim.

What I claim is:

The process of packaging Which includes placing Wrapping material over an expansible opening 0f smaller area than the area of the largest cross section of the object t0 be pack-aged, the opening having a continuous uninterrupted edge, then pressing the object -against the portion of the wrapping material over the opening and thus pushing the wrapping material through the opening by means of the object thereby expanding the opening and passing the object entirely through it, then gathering the wrapping material together above the object by contraction of the opening to a smaller area than the largest cross-sectional area 0f the opening, then turning the object yand adjacent Wrapping material with respect to the Wrapping material on the other side of the opening thereby drawing the wrap- JAMES E. SNYDER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 10 le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Wilson Dec. 19, 1899 Fitzgerald Feb. l5, 1938 Muller Oct. 15, 1940 Pfeiffer Feb. 23, 1943 Patterson Sept. 18, 1945 Cloud July 9, 1946 Vincent Aug. 12, 1947 

